Supporting-clip for overhead electric conductors



No. 608,637. Patented Aug. 9, I898. w. A. BARTLEY.

SUPPORTING CLIP FOB OVERHEAD ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS.

(Application filed May 23, 1898.) (N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

MI!!! lllllllllllllf 1 C T-P No. 608,637. Patented Aug. 9, I898. W. A. BARTLEY.

SUPPORTING CLIP FUR OVERHEAD ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS.

(Application filed May 23, 1898.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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WILLIAM A. BARTLEY, OF BOSTON, MASSAOHUSETTS.

SUPPORTING-CLIP FOR OVERHEAD ELECTRIC CONDUCTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 608,637, dated August 9, 1898. Application filed May 23, 1898- Serial No. 681,439. (No model.)

To (0% whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. HARTLEY, of Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in SupportingOlips for Overhead Electric Conductors, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

The present invention relates to a clamp or fastening device for overhead electric eonductors or trolleywires, and is especially adapted for use with the heavy conductingwires which are now used on certain systems and which are known as figureeight wires, because they resemble a figure eight in crosssection.

The clamping device embodying the invention comprises two separable interlocking members, one of which is arranged to be screwed or otherwise secured to the insulator or support, while the other is arranged to be forced into operative position after the wire is put up, so as to clamp and support the same in conjunction with the fixed member, the two members being arranged to close together like a pair of pincers, meeting along a portion which acts as a fulcrum and havin g fingers below said portion to grip the wire. The parts above said portion are then secured together by locking -clamps, which are arranged to be driven into position and then,

looked, as by the blow of a hammer, the ad jacent parts of the said upper portions preferably having surfaces inclined somewhat away from each other and arranged to be engaged by the locking-clamp with a wedging action as the latter is driven into position.

The two members of the supporting device may further be provided with lugs or projections to cooperate with similar lugs upon the locking-clamps, the lugs on the latter being adapted to be forced into engagement with those on the former after the locking-clamps are in position. 7

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a support ing device embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the two members shown separately, and Fig. at is a top plan view with one of the clamping-pieces in position and the other omitted.

The supporting device comprises the members a and b, the member a being shown as provided with a socket portion 0 arranged to be connectedwith the insulating-support A in any suitable or usual way, the said member having an offset finger or clamping portion of, which is arranged to engage one side of the trolley-wirefO,'as best shown in Fig. 2. The cross-section of the said trolley-wire is such that the same is contracted at C and enlarged above andbelow, the lower portion being adapted to be engaged by the trolley and the upper portion being retained by the clamp, as shown.

The finger a of the member a engages and grips the upper portion of the wire O and is held in engagement therewith by means of the member 1), which is provided with fingers 11 corresponding to. the portion a of the member a and arranged to engage the opposite side of the wire C, the said fingers cfiand b crossing each other like the members of a pair of pincers. The finger a may be arranged to extend continuously along one side of the Wire 0, as shown in Fig. 1, the member Ct being shown as provided with openings or, through which extend the fingers 6 which correspond to the finger a except that in the construction shown they do not extend continuously along the wire, but only grip portions thereof along one side. It is obvious, however, that this construction may be modified and the fingers otherwise arranged to'eross each other without departing from the invention.

. Themain portion of the member I) is arranged to lie adjacent to that of the member a, as best shown in Fig. 2, the fingers a and b being offset to engage opposite sides of the wire, so that as the members a and b are drawn together each will act as a fulcrum for the other and" the fingers will be closed together into firm engagement with the wire, it being necessary only to lock the members a and l; togetherto clamp the Wire. Assuming, therefore, that the member a is secured to the insulator by means of the socket a and that the wire O is to be put up and clamped in positi on, the said wire will be placed between the fingers a and the fingers W, as shown, after which the main portions of the members a. and Z) will be drawn together, the two parts engaging at 11 Fig. 2, so that as the said main portions are thus drawn together the fingers will correspondingly nip the wire 0 after the manner of a pair of pincers. As shown in Fig. 2, the adjacent sides of said members are inclined somewhat away from each other above the engaging portion 1), so that the fingers will firmly engage the wire before said members can come in contact with each other throughout. To draw together and secure the said members after the wire 0 is inserted between the fingers, the sliding clamps d are employed, the said clamps being shown as having undercut grooves or channels d into which extend tongues (L5 and 11 which are formed, respectively, upon the outer edges of the members a and Z). The edges of said tongues a and b are inclined away from each other or diverge from their ends in the direction of movement of the clamps, so that as the clamps are driven into place the members a and b are drawn toward each other, thus causing the wire 0 to be clamped between the fingers a and b To retain the clamps d in position, they are shown as provided with fingers d, which proj ect downward along the sides of the members a and b, and to cooperate with said fingers the said members are provided with lugs or projections a and Z), the fingers being normally spread apart, so as to pass said projections, but arranged to engage the same when bent inward toward the said members, as by the blow of a hammer, after the clamp is in position.

There a trolley-wire of the figure-eight cross-section is'employed, it is obvious that the construction of the line is facilitated by the use of this clamp, since the fixed members may be secured to the insulators or supports all along the line, and as fast as the wire is strung or placed in position the removable members may be instantly applied and secured by driving 011 the clampingpieces d. To take down a section of wire, moreover, it is only necessary to pry out the lugs 61 and hammer off the clamps, after which the clip member Z) will release the wire, or, if desired, be bodily removed and the wire taken down. In the construction shown,

moreover, it is obvious that the member 1) will remain in position, being supported by its main portion, which overlies the finger a, so that to put up the wire it is only necessary to slip the same between the fin gers and drive on the clamps.

It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific construction herein shown and described to illustrate an embodiment of the same, since modifications may obviously be made without departing from the invention.

I claim- 1. A clip for overhead electric conductors, comprising two interlocking members provided respectively with fingers to engage opposite sides of the conductor, body portions diagonally opposite said fingers, a sliding clamp adapted to be forced into engagement with the outer surfaces of said body portions, and means for retaining said clamp after it has been forced into operative position, substantially as described.

2. A clip for overhead conductors, comprising interlocking members having body portions adapted to lie adjacent to each other and fingers offset with relation to said body portions and arranged to cross each other so that a movement of the body portions toward each other will cause said fingers to correspondingly move toward each other, the side edges of said body portions diverging from their ends, and clamps adapted to be driven on said body portions to fasten the same together with a wedging action, substantially as described.

3. A clip for overheadelectric conductors, comprising the members a and I) provided with the offset fingers a and 11 arranged to cross each other and engage opposite sides of the conductor, said members having their edges diverging from each other, the clamps d adapted to be forced into engagement with said members and provided with fingers (Z and the lugs a and b to cooperate with said fingers, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\VILLIAM A. HARTLEY.

\Vitnesses:

H. J. LIvEnMoRu, NANCY P. FORT). 

